Dance and Music Reviews : Glendale Symphony Plays Familiar Classics

The Glendale Symphony, under the baton of John Covelli, read through five familiar classics and selections from a movie sound track Saturday night at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Untidy entrances and sluggish tempos reflected a lack of spirit on the part of the musicians, who otherwise performed with virtuosity.

In their most substantial undertaking, Suite No. 2 from Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe,” Covelli routinely cued section upon section, bouncing and swaying, but stirring up little passion, while principal flutist Sheridon Stokes put forth a solid, noteworthy effort.

Lalo’s Cello Concerto offered fleeting moments of intimacy from cellist John Walz, as he also prevailed over the ubiquitous rapid passages. But intonation problems and an uneven balance between the soloist’s nuances and the louder orchestra continually marred the performance.

The orchestra came alive with hair-raising volume in three excerpts from Miklos Rozsa’s bombastic, Oriental-flavored sound track to “Ben-Hur,” almost bringing the house down--literally: A mild earthquake shook the hall, tinkling the chandeliers during one of the softer passages.

Covelli also led the orchestra in lackluster performances of Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony (No. 8) and Offenbach’s Overture to “Orpheus in the Underworld.”